Gromnir

is football, so will keep brief. kaepernick numbers were ok with harbaugh, and then slipped into suckage range after harbaugh left the 49ers. is easy to find articles predicting end o' kaepernick career as a starting qb from before his anthem protest, and we has posted links to multiple such in the nfl threads. compounding problems for kaepernick were how his success in the nfl were limited to one variation o' the read-option: zone-option. zone-option is arguable read-option in simplest form 'cause the qb only reads the defensive end. nfl defenses picked up on zone-option gimmick within a couple seasons, which is why no team in the league relies exclusive on zone-read. fact kaepernick were demanding starter consideration and monies were baffling to pretty much every pundit, right up until the protests. am not certain why sitting for the anthem made kaepernick a better qb in 2016, 2017 and 2018 compared to 2015 and 2014. as a physically talented guy who could backup a starter, kaepernick deserved a looksee, but such ain't what kaepernick wanted. kaepernick sits and then many o' those experts who said the 49ers qb time were past inexplicable claimed bafflement when kaepernick were passed over during fa. weird. however, am gonna admit we ain't so certain talent always trumps other issues, but the thing is, am admitted having a hard time imagining what would be threshold. criminal behavior such as vick's weren't enough 'cause he had paid his debt to society, or so the narrative went. am thinking it would be different if the crime committed were sexual, but then is difficult to imagine a prison term as short as vick's 18 months for a sexual crime which would offend nfl fans and owners enough to effective blacklist. ... perhaps if player crime were sexual & dog related? HA! Good Fun!

there is an obvious tactical solution HA! Good Fun!

science, even in a galaxy far, far away, will never explain the greatest mysteries o' the universe. what happens inside a black hole? concepts such as love, justice and God will necessarily forever elude the grasp o' science. and why did the tor developers have to go and ruin revan? some questions is too terrible for science to contemplate. HA! Good Fun!

this kinda "raise my eyebrows"? HA! Good Fun!

most o' our money comes from real estate related stuff. the thing is, we ain't paid a tax bill since 2010 and am unlikely to need do so for near future. our situation is one o' the things wrong with our current tax system. have been able to carry forward losses from housing bubble burst years in spite o' fact we actual made money from purchase o' numerous enchepened properties. our personal income is kept low and as long as we avoid capital gains situations, taxes is a non-factor. in theory the irs bill would catch up with us when we sell property, 'cause then the capital gains would kick in and kick in hard. buy sooper cheap and sell expensive sounds nice, but such is when irs swoops in and takes. great recession, which devastated many thousands o' US families and seniors, were best thing to happen to us from a financial perspective. am admitting system is busted, but democrats got all bass ackwards with new plans to tax wealthy. capital gains taxes make more sense and is far more easily valued than some kinda tax on net worth. the thing is, there is current far too many ways to avoid capital gains taxes. democrats is going at this all wrong 'cause it resonates with their base and not 'cause is a practical solution. HA! Good Fun!

with oscars over, will identify one o' the unexpected gems for us this past year. a streets of laredo version. HA! Good Fun!

can't expect 'em all to be like lincoln. HA! Good Fun!

somehow missed his passing last week. didn't see it mentioned at the dozen or so news sites we frequent. weren't 'til yesterday eve when folks were complaining 'bout the academy in memoriam snubs we realized he had passed. in any event, am knowing he gets most credit for singin' in the rain, but we were always a big fan o' damn yankees and charade. @star trek fans: a young boothby played the the prince o' darkness in damn yankees and were fantastic; one o' our favorite on-screen devil portrayals. HA! Good Fun!

forgot we had to keep simple for some. translate relevant portion for the adhd crowd: the majority o' recent joint chiefs of staff came from helot families and the current US president is a helot who not only avoided military service, but has public ridiculed spartans. the spartan/helot dichotomy don't hold save as a joke, but we didn't see a smiley, so... edit: added video clip figured reading a couple lines o' text might still be too strenuous for a few folks, but who doesn't like otter videos? HA! Good Fun!

maybe a sham, but hardly a shock. roma or green book were frontrunners and roma is a foreign film. blackkklansman were the other possibility. were kinda a meh year. we already had this discussion, but other than cold war and beale street, we didn't see any best picture snubs, and we didn't feel particular strong 'bout any o' the actual nominees either. meh HA! Good Fun!

am not certain if this were intentional hyperbolic, so will treat as if you added a smiley or similar emoticon. sure, military careers tends to repeated generational in the US. 'course same is true for any number o' occupations and we don't see many concerns 'cause farmers and plumbers is often family businesses. the thing is, maybe not to the degree shady is concerned, we do realize town plumbers and individual farmers don't wield the same kinda power as does army colonels and navy captains. still, is not surprising when folks follow in the footsteps o' their parents, and we cannot imagine a legal method for barring families from helping their children along a similar career path. do we genuine want to prevent such? if debbie has desire and ability to get into annapolis same as her old man, then more power to her. if debbie wanted to become a plumber, and her road towards becoming a successful plumber were made predictable more smooth and less convoluted by having a father who could not only speak on her behalf with contractors and suppliers, but could offer her practical advice unavailable to a first generation plumber, am not certain many o' us would be offended overmuch. however, am recognizing the legit fear o' family power and the potential for manifest unfairness. captain or admiral in navy is different than neighborhood plumber. the thing is, given how merit-based is US military progression, particular compared to many other militaries 'round the world, am not certain what, if anything, we would change. colin powell, for example, were the son of immigrants. no US military background for the powells. how much were joseph dunford aided by his father having served as an infantry marine? dunford sr. career were the ultimate stereotype: an irish-catholic cop in boston. martin dempsey grew up in bayonne, nj... all o' his grandparents were born in ireland. general dempsey's father were a full-time oil refinery worker and a part-time mail man. mother worked at a department store. michael mullen's parents were hollywood showbiz folks. names might not be familiar other than powell, but these guys were all recent Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. clear don't need family name to rise in military. if you want another specific refutation o' the spartan/helot dichotomy, one need only look to "cadet bone spurs." the President not only don't have any military service record, but he arguable shirked military duty with a transparent medical condition and has, on numerous occasions, made light o' the contributions o' actual military leaders and heroes. kinda implausible for a helot who has shown contempt for those who has fought and shed blood while he stayed home safe with a seeming ephemeral medical disability to not only be afforded full benefits o' citizenship, but to rise to commander and chief o' the most powerful military force on the planet... which should cause a chill to run down your spine when you think o' the absurdity. so we clear don't have spartan/helot. also, as much as Gromnir rails 'bout income disparity, we sure as hell ain't gonna suggest the US suffers from some kinda rigid class system with patricians, plebs and slaves. best not forget the slaves. of the top dozen wealthiest folks on the planet, most is Americans, which comes as no surprise to anyone. however, bezos, ellison and bloomberg all came from, at best what could be described as middle-class families. gates, zuckerberg and page had slight more privileged upbringings, but still upper middle-class by most standards. warren buffet's dad were a Congressman, and the koch brothers inherited big-- patricians. oh, and am personal retiring this year before we turn 50 after having donated a small (extreme small by bezos standards) fortune to multiple charities. home whenever we get fellow americans chastising us 'cause am ignoring the plight o' folks in gaza or caracas, we wanna howl and laugh and cry all at same time. got dozens o' places just as worthy o' sympathy right here in the US, but such places go largely unnoticed. *shrug* yeah, we got lucky. we managed to get an advanced degree from a prestigious school. most important, we had grandparents raising us who believed in the importance o' education and who insulated us from much o' the day-to-day tragedies o' the rez. lucky. even so, our humble beginning didn't slow us down overmuch. also helps we don't hardly sleep, so there is that too. and is not as if am alone in success originating from the lowest pleb state. immigrants, particular from asia and africa, is doing well in the US, which is precise why immigrants keep coming to America. US is still a land o' opportunity, and not just for patricians, but perhaps one needs come from someplace truly hard to appreciate the possibilities. HA! Good Fun! ps retirement is on hold 'til we finish two cases. am assuming both is wrapped up by june. if all goes according to plan, then we get to say we retired before fifty.

the magnificent seven and in a valley of violence... neither creates a particular longing for another ethan hawke western. 'course we no longer dislike ethan hawke, but am not able to think o' any movies directed by vincent d'onofrio. if we gotta check imdb, that is a bad sign. is not making us particular curious. if somebody we know sees the kid, somebody who doesn't like ethan hawke or chriss pratt (pretty much everybody we know already dislikes dehaan) and nevertheless likes it, then we will become intrigued. relative soon upcoming, am interested in dumbo. the live-action disney remakes leave us flaccid, but dumbo will have us buying a movie ticket as 'posed to waiting to rent. HA! Good Fun!

am kinda baffled by the player element which insists boarding actions is better from a pure practical pov. being able to depopulate deadfire waters o' named ship captains immediate after leaving port maje, and recognizing how the difficulty slider affects ship combat sans boarding actions not in the least, makes ship combat potential exploitive. nevertheless, there is a tenacious element which clings to ship boarding superiority which defies any efforts at reason or common sense. argue ship boarding combat is more fun? would not even attempt to gainsay. but subjective fun isn't the issue for most folks. is one o' those boardie splits o' opinion which leaves us perplexed. HA! Good Fun!

am suspecting this has already been posted, but we didn't do a search the man who survived three consecutive hangings HA! Good Fun!

such a result is exact the unfortunate scenario we mentioned earlier in the thread. independents is current dissatisfied with trump in pretty much every poll. to beat trump, the democrats need to actual vote for a change or they need a candidate who will appeal to independents. depend on democrats showing up to vote is not a smart money bet. a democrat candidate who appeals to independents need be moderate and not clinton. is disappointing for democrats 'cause the candidate they seem to want and are current creating is one skewed further to the left. further left they go, the more they lose bulk o' independents vital to 2020. as for women in draft? meh. as o' 2015, pentagon lifted restrictions on women serving in any kinda role. this ruling were a kinda given at some point. am admitted little knowledgeable o' draft nuances save for how it pertains to speech and religion issues. is a flaw in our self education. while recognizing draft and military service as a whole appears to disproportionate rely on economic disadvantaged portions o' our population, military service would appear to be a way for many people to improve their situation with programs such as gi bill and va loans and whatnot. am thus kinda ambivalent. while am glad we got the opportunities afforded by military service, am kinda offended by how draft and military service as a whole functional targets specific segments o' the populace. while some folks might balk at the socialist nuance o' our suggestion, have always personal been in favor o' some kinda universal mandatory fed or state service following graduation. not necessarily military, but service to country or state for a couple years following high school graduation (or end o' high school career,) or university is something we has seen suggested over the years, but have never seen it get any kinda general support. no warrior caste issue for shady if everybody needs serve, yes? "But if you want to serve and I can't talk you out of it, then we have to take you, because that's your constitutional right. It says that everybody, male or female, should have his born right to pay his service and assume full citizenship — but the facts are that we are getting hard pushed to find things for all the volunteers to do that aren't just glorified KP. You can't all be real military men; we don't need that many and most of the volunteers aren't number-one soldier material anyhow...[W]e've had to think up a whole list of dirty, nasty, dangerous jobs that will ... at the very least make them remember for the rest of their lives that their citizenship is valuable to them because they've paid a high price for it ... A term of service is ... either real military service, rough and dangerous even in peacetime ... or a most unreasonable facsimile thereof." no, am not actual suggesting going full starship troopers, but am seeing a whole lotta positives for a kinda universal service. HA! Good Fun!

Trump’s Trade Chief Lectures His Boss and Gets an Earful in Return gotta be tough working for this administration. lighthizer is doing his best to keep a deal from having to go to Congress for a vote, and the President torpedoes him in front o' chinese and a gaggle o' reporters. HA! Good Fun!

am not democrat, so we got no involvement in primaries, but am finding warren and bloomberg most intriguing, if for different reasons. 'course bloomberg is older than biden and almost as old as sanders. call us ageist. harris is seeming like the current candidate-to-beat for the democrats as she has adopted the goldilocks zone for most issues and doesn't have any eyebrow raising questions regarding her background or campaign. HA! Good Fun!

the irish were treated like garbage. the italians were treated like garbage. the poles were treated like garbage. etc. cubans, mexicans and the new wave o' immigrants from africa? treated like garbage. maybe is a weird cultural hazing kinda thing. warning: sweary each group, after a few generations, gets to treat next group o' immigrants like... garbage. and immigrants keep coming to the US, and they keep succeeding. in spite o' misinformation, immigrants typical outwork natural born americans. commit less crime too. ... perhaps ironic is native americans, original occupants, has been consistent treated like garbage. never has gotten their fair shot at hazing the next guy. HA! Good Fun!

am knowing hurl is bay area, so stuff is more expensive, but am paying $72 for cable and internet... though it should be $71. gonna need call somebody on monday. nevertheless feels as if am getting robbed. get 190 channels we never watch save for news and sports. syfy, fx and amc will get infrequent views. if we ever wanna watch byutv, am golden. got netflix and no other subscriptions. for those shows we do not have immediate access to, am typical willing to wait 'til we might rent discs. is a bit annoying when everybody is talking 'bout what happened on game of thrones or whatever else is the show dujour, but have become accustomed to adopting the three wise monkey routine. HA! Good Fun!

coulda' been almost any o' those scandinavian countries, and they choose norway? https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/nor/ norway is almost as dependent on raw resource exports as is russia, which ain't a compliment, and nearly 60% o' all exports is petroleum-based. as such, norway suffers from extreme volatility o' currency. is also geographical much smaller and cultural far more homogenized than US. problems facing norway is a bit different. got vast stretches o' highway in the west and midwest o' US with absolute nothing to mark passage save mileage markers. is no wonder infrastructure improvements is so daunting. just one example. coulda' used any scandinavian nation as an example, but we get home o' whale killers and recreational seal clubbers who is as over dependent on oil as russia? however, we get the point. there is examples o' socialism working okie dokie for folks. HA! Good Fun!

one thing the media has done a poor job o' is enlightening folks 'bout collusion and what a mueller report regarding collusion and obstruction would be likely to show. am gonna leave obstruction aside, in part 'cause there is already significant evidence o' obstruction. legal sufficient evidence? probable, but whether or not a witness or evidence is trustworthy is gonna be a question for finder o' fact, so while it might be possible to charge, weakness o' evidence could makes impractical to do so. regardless, is likely enough for obstruction, but such assumes there is an underlying crime. is well nigh impossible to find obstruction o' a criminal investigation if you cannot show there were an actual crime committed. might be extreme minor and technical kinda crime, but still need crime, which is why the collusion stuff is fundamental. no doubt most has heard by now 'bout collusion not being a specific crime. conspiracy to ________ is the crime for which mueller is gonna need be providing evidence. the thing is, nobody should be expecting a smoking gun. is not like movies or tv. prove a criminal conspiracy is not ordinary achieved 'cause o' a written agreement or video recording uncovered by investigators which reveals the nature and extent o' the conspiracy. criminal conspiracies is, by their very nature, the result o' clandestine activity as 'posed to overt action. when organizations conspire for some illegal purpose, you do not have a secretary taking notes and reviewing minutes. is typical never even a face-to-face meeting. as you might suspect, smoking gun evidence is highly unlikely in such circumstances. for criminal conspiracy, prosecutor need show unity o' purpose or common design as well as some action towards achieving nefarious goal, but may prove through circumstantial evidence. is a bunch o' factors (different from elements) which may contribute to a finding o' conspiracy and they is all having exceptions, so am understanding why tv and newspapers don't go into too much detail as is much easier to explain with a specific example, and the mueller report is gonna be where we do or don't see examples. regardless, should be no expectation o' a smoking gun. HA! Good Fun!

Because people will never figure out sex if we don't tell them, right? (image) have some kinda democratic process oversee educational guidelines is bound to result in curious value-based curriculum. values change from state-to-state, so is not shocking to us when so too does curriculum vary. that said, am finding it disingenuous to label as education or educational when purpose o' the lessons would appear to be insulating fragile child minds from terrible facts and frightening truths. name change might be in order. instead o' "human growth and development," as described by hurl, perhaps reintroduce as "practical introduction to educational safe zones"? too thought provoking a title? maybe, "human growth and development: part 1 of 3." make clear there will be no part two and three. am recalling oldie "stop, drop and roll," commercials with d!ck van dyke. would be kinda ridiculous if d!ck stopped his advice at, "stop." nevertheless, such is how we wanna teach kids 'bout sex in many states. go figure. HA! Good Fun!

Why Do Grapes Explode in the Microwave? am admitting, this is a new one for us. am thinking we have a microwave in the garage we ain't yet taken to e-waste for disposal. might give this a try. probable won't, but... HA! Good Fun!

customs issues holding up produce and perishables at ports is gonna be felt by shipping companies immediate, but the average consumer won't notice. there will be travel issues for many people, but again, is gonna take time more marked and noticeable impact to be felt nationwide. some folks will be hurt painful and immediate, and for those select folks the change will be dramatic, but overall... also helps that we have never seen a british person voluntarily eat a fresh vegetable and only rare eat fresh fruit, so some immediate concerns will be marginalized by curious culinary and dietary preferences o' those most direct impacted by brexit. am kidding... if only slight. HA! Good Fun!

am thinking brexit will be worse than many imagine, but not nearly as dramatic. bad timing o' the chinese economic slowdown is gonna exacerbate impact o' brexit on world economy. is not gonna be road warrior apocalypse, but we wouldn't be surprised by increasing levels o' violence at border o' northern ireland, violence which will only get worse if the economic situation on either/both side(s) o' the border becomes bleak. while limited violence will be dramatic and newsworthy, the real problems is gonna be economic which is gonna take many months (maybe a year) to be noticed by most folks in britain and the eu... and the rest o' the world. am not gonna be hoarding mre and gold in preparation for brexit, but would be shocked if there weren't a real and noticeable global impact if brexit actual happens. HA! Good Fun!